Heavyweight political allies of racing call on ministers to drop affordability checks and reform the levy

A letter signed by some of British racing's highest-profile and influential political allies has called on culture secretary Lucy Frazer to drop affordability checks or exempt racing from them until frictionless technology is proven.

The politicians also asked the secretary of state to amend the levy to extend the sport's central funding system to bets placed on foreign racing by British punters, as well as raising the rate.

The letter, a copy of which has been seen by the Racing Post, was sent by Lord Herbert of South Downs and signed by former cabinet members Matt Hancock, Priti Patel, Ben Wallace and Nadhim Zahawi, his fellow former ministers George Freeman and Lord Soames and incoming Jockey Club senior steward Baroness Harding.

It comes with the sport waiting for publication of the Gambling Commission's response to the consultation on affordability checks – or financial risk checks as the government terms them – which closed last October.

An interim code to standardise the ad hoc checks operators have already introduced is also expected while the promised frictionless enhanced system of checks is piloted.

Racing and its supporters in parliament have been lobbying ministers about the potential impact of the two-tiered system of checks, which could cost the sport £250 million in revenues over the next five years according to estimates.

In the letter, sent this week, Lord Herbert thanks Frazer for her "engagement with colleagues who have concerns about the racing and bloodstock industries over the issue of affordability checks and the levy".

The letter was sent by Lord Herbert of South Downs and signed by former cabinet ministers

The letter sets out the package of measures the signatories believe are needed.

It calls on the government to "drop" affordability checks, "or direct a carve-out for racing from the checks at least until the technology for ‘frictionless’ checks is proven". 

It adds: "We believe a carve-out is justified because racing does not represent the most significant component of problem gambling and because the impact of blunt checks introduced already has been so catastrophic for racing’s finances.

"A carve-out would be administratively straightforward because there is already a definition of what bets are covered by the levy. 

"We do not believe that the proposed higher thresholds for checks will solve the problem, since most revenue is generated by wealthier punters for whom large losses are immaterial but who will continue to be driven to the black market if they face intrusive checks."

When the gambling white paper was published last April the government promised to review the levy to ensure racing did not suffer financially from the other proposals.

However, ministers asked racing and betting to come up with a voluntary deal and an agreement has not yet been found despite offers and counter offers between the two sides.

The letter calls on the government to extend the levy to bets placed in the UK on overseas racing, "mirroring how such bets are treated by our competitors".

It adds: "We do not believe that the betting operators’ case against this is credible."

The government has emphasised the need for a voluntary deal, citing the lack of a legislative opportunity to make the changes.

However, the letter calls on ministers to raise the levy rate to 11.25 per cent from ten per cent, arguing that both changes to the levy can be achieved by introducing a statutory instrument.

"We do not believe that the current deal which has been offered by the operators is good for racing, or that the racing industry will accept it," the letter adds.

The signatories said they believed the measures should be introduced together and that it would not be acceptable for a "partial solution" to affordability checks to be announced without levy reform.

They add: "We believe that all these measures are deliverable, that the betting operators are privately reconciled to them even if they publicly argue against them, and that the case to restore the finances of racing and achieve a more just distribution of funds is overwhelming. 

"We urge you to implement this package which would be strongly welcomed by the racing and bloodstock industries and would repair the perception that government policy has, regrettably if unintentionally, undermined the nation’s second most popular spectator sport."

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